An 11-member team of US Army officers is in Dhaka, ostensibly to prepare the groundwork and modalities for the Tiger Lightning-2026 exercise with the Bangladesh Army scheduled to begin in July this year, Northeast News has reliably learnt.
While a three-member core team of these US Army officers arrived in Dhaka earlier this month, all of the visitors were granted visas on arrival before they checked into The Westin Hotel at Gulshan.
Documents accessed by Northeast News show that on April 28, the Immigration Section of the Bangladesh Home Ministry "accorded permission for issuing visa on arrival (gratis) in favour" of the US Army officer "after ensuring his/her identity, return ticket and condition".
This concession was made following an April 22 request by the Armed Forces Division under the Prime Minister's Office.
Exercise Tiger Lightning 2025 (TL25) was a six-day bilateral military drill held from July 20-31, 2025, at the Jalalabad Cantonment in Sylhet, Bangladesh, aimed at enhancing interoperability between the US Army Pacific (specifically the Nevada National Guard) and the Bangladesh Army's Para Commando Brigade.
The exercise focused on counter-terrorism, jungle warfare and medical evacuations.
Tiger Lightning-2025 was the fourth consecutive exercise aimed at strengthening defence ties, increasing regional security cooperation and establishing long-term mutual trust between the Bangladesh Army and the US defence forces.
The inaugural ceremony was held on July 25, 2025, with Major General Scott A Winter, Deputy Commanding General of US Army Pacific, attending as the guest speaker.
This time, initially three US Army officers, led by Maj Kate Helena Howard, arrived at Dhaka's Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport on Thai Airways flight (No. TG-321). Later, eight others reached the Bangladesh capital.
The other US Army officers, whose guest bookings at The Westin were made by the American Embassy in Dhaka's Baridhara neighbourhood, have been identified as Troy David Anthony Bagnall, Travis Wolfe Hugmeyer, Brittany Jordan Whitehead, S Myles Julian Scott, Jason Robert Hooy, Steven Douglas Olson, Andrew Paul Burke, Ryan Scott Simmons, Michael Charles Carey, Andrew Douglas Richards and Marco Copat.
Among these, Travis Hugmeyer took part in the US' war in Afghanistan that ended five years ago. Steven Olson also served in Afghanistan in 2012, when he was with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR)-specifically under the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division-and played a significant role in Regional Command South (RC South).
The 2nd Battalion, 508th PIR (Task Force 2-Fury) operated extensively in the volatile Arghandab River Valley.
Another of the visitors is Maj Troy Bagnall, who is with the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment and Oregon Army National Guard. Experienced in combat and previously deployed in Najaf (in 2004), Iraq, Bagnall is said to be involved in international planning exercises.
Michael Carey is with USARPAC or the United States Army Pacific. He is a senior operations leader responsible for personnel management and theatre exercise execution across the INDOPACOM area of operations.
He collaborates with host nations, allied forces, and multinational partners to achieve shared strategic objectives, strengthen coalition readiness, and advance regional security initiatives. Directly influences force readiness, interoperability, and operational success across the Indo-Pacific theatre.